


Among The Wildflowers

by Babey_blue



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, Language of Flowers, Light Angst, M/M, POV The Iron Bull (Dragon Age), Pining, flirting as teasing, homophobia if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28123011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babey_blue/pseuds/Babey_blue
Summary: Iron Bull goes into Krem's new job, a flower shop called Castle Gardens, and promptly falls in love with the owner.
Relationships: Male Inquisitor/Iron Bull
Kudos: 19





	Among The Wildflowers

Usually, Bull wouldn't be caught in this part of town for his own good, Qunari were rarely treated well in nicer parts of town, but Krem had started a new job and Bull wanted to congratulate him and treat him to lunch.

He never pinned his friend as the type to work with flowers, but it seemed Krem was still full of surprises. 

As he walked up to the light pink shop, named Castle Gardens, despite not looking like a castle in any aspect, he saw a man beaming up at Krem, showing him a book about flowers. The man was small, his hair pulled into a dark red ponytail and he was lithe in only the way elves could be. 

Deciding that he'd probably get fined if he stayed outside any longer, he went inside, having to duck through the door due to his horns and height. 

Immediately the elf turned to him, name tag reading 'Cian', which wasn't a stereotypical Elvish name, but it wasn't like he could judge.

Cian was still beaming, but it wasn't a fake customer service grin, he seemed happy to help. "What can we help you with today?" 

Bull shook his head. "I just came to tell Krem that he better not mess up this job because I won't let him forget it if he does." 

He pulled Krem into a headlock and ruffled his hair, laughing at the man's cries of protest. 

"Krem's a natural so far, a real affinity for plants and people." Cian told him, laughing quietly at the display. 

"Well, how hard can plants be?" 

The red headed elf laughed. "If you want to send the right message? Extremely difficult. Not to mention taking care of them properly."

Krem, who had freed himself from Bull's grip, groaned. "Now look what you've done, my hair's a mess!" 

But he was no longer paying attention to Krem, his focus was now on the elf who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, like Bull had personally challenged him. 

"Most people use flowers to get into someone's pants y'know, they don't care about what they mean." 

Cian went behind the counter and pulled out some flowers. "Tell me, Bull, was it? Say you forgot it was your anniversary with your partner, and to apologise, you get a bouquet made, which flowers would you pick?" 

He was never one to back down from a challenge, no matter how small it was, so he walked in front of the counter, studying the flowers. 

"Well, red roses, of course. These yellow flowers look nice, what are they?" 

"Carnations." 

"Some of those and the orange lilies." 

Cian raised and eyebrow, but assembled the bouquet with quick and deft hands, adding green ferns to line the bouquet with. During this process, Bull could see he took pride in his work. 

When the bouquet was done, the elf crossed his arms proudly. "I have to say, I do believe you've made the most odd bouquet I've ever had the pleasure to assemble." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Well, the roses were a good choice, especially if you were to be apologising, but the yellow carnations, although they're pretty, mean that you feel disdain for him, thus giving the bouquet a double sided meaning. And the orange lilies mean that you hate them altogether." 

Bull grimaced in embarrassment. So, maybe working with flowers wasn't as easy as he thought. 

"So you see," Cian continued, "it's our job - meaning Krem and I - to make sure that people like you don't tell your loved ones that you hate them by sending the wrong flower." 

"I don't think you'll be able to recover from that one, Chief." Krem said, laughing as he patted Bull on the shoulder. 

"Yeah, yeah,  _ maybe _ flowers are harder than i thought." 

"Yes well, if you ever need another lesson, feel free to ask. Men like you could be knocked down a few pegs." Cian joked, winking at him. 

As Krem and Bull exited the shop, the Qunari man looked back at the shop owner, who was now watering the ones by the window, looking like he belonged there.

"Krem, I'm gonna fuck your boss." 

"Don't you  _ dare."  _

"Yeah, I'm going to." 

***

It was a while before he saw Cian again, this time though, it was because he did indeed, need flowers for someone. 

Mother's Day was coming up, and although they didn't really have mothers as Qunari, his Tama was the closest thing he had to one. And also because Krem had already gotten her a really good gift and he didn't want to be one upped. 

When he walked in, Cian immediately beamed. "Bull! Back for another lesson?" 

"Er, no. I need a bouquet of flowers. For Mother's Day." 

"Mother's Day? Alright, shouldn't take me too long, if you want to wait here or do something else and I could call you." 

"I can wait here, as long as it's no trouble." 

"None at all." 

As Bull perused the small shop, Cian's humming a nice background noise to the calm atmosphere, he began to see why Krem would work here. It smelled nice and it felt like somewhere else entirely. 

"Do you have plans?" Bull asked out of the blue, looking at one of the hanging plants. 

"For Mother's Day? No, I uh, my mother doesn't talk to me anymore." 

"Why not? Sorry, that's... you don't have to answer." 

Cian set down his tools and sighed. "No, it's alright. Krem already knows and it seems unfair to keep it from you. My family and I share a different…. viewpoint on life than I do, I should say." 

"Oh.  _ Oh."  _

"Ah, I knew you'd get it." 

Hearing this, he felt the familiar bubble of anger in his chest that he always felt when hearing stuff like that, but it was followed by a strong urge of protection. 

"I'm sorry about that." He told the elf, earnestly. 

"It happened ages ago, don't worry. Here's your bouquet." 

"And what kind of flowers are these?" Bull asked, sensing the subject change. 

Cian grinned. "Pink Stargazer Lilies, white carnations and pink tulips." 

"What do they mean?" 

Bull was looking at him fully now, his attention on Cian. A bomb could fall and it would not be enough to tear his attention away from the person in front of him, watching as he carefully explained each meaning to him, hands carefully gesturing to each flower. 

"Sorry, was I rambling? I'm sure you've got places to be." 

But he was still looking at the red haired elf, hair in a ponytail, hands covered in soil and callused from gardening. And he thought, in that moment, that maybe Cian Lavellan was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen. 

"Bull? Are you alright?" 

He was startled out of his stupor, Cian looking up at him, concerned. 

"Yeah, I uh. Do you want to come to my Tama's Mother's Day dinner?" 

"Y-your Tama?" 

Bull hadn't felt embarrassed in awhile, but this? This had been the worst bout of embarrassment he'd felt. 

"My Tamassran. She's like my mother. And she always insists that Krem and I bring guests, but usually we never do." 

"I wouldn't want to intrude." 

"Nonsense! She'll love you! She likes the scrawny ones the most, she thinks she has to feed them more!" 

"Are you using me to get out of having to take leftovers home?" 

"Absolutely." 

Cian rolled his eyes, but agreed to go, which had Bull feeling over the moon as he walked out of the shop.

***

Bull was more nervous than he should've been about Cian meeting his Tama, because if she didn't approve, he didn't know what he would do. 

But, when he opened the door for the red headed elf, he was immediately grabbed into a bone crushung hug.

"You must be the elf that my Iron Bull talks about." She said, beaming proudly. 

"I am, or at least I hope so." 

"And you're a red head! He loves red heads." 

Behind Tama, he could see Krem dissolving into a fit of laughter. 

"That's good, I'd hate to disappoint him with different hair." He joked, smiling comfortably. 

"Let's eat," Bull cut in, "before Tama tells you anything else embarrassing." 

"Awe, but you're adorable when you're embarrassed, and I'd hate to miss out on stories." Cian said, grinning at him. 

"Adorable huh? I'll show you adorable." He said, throwing the elf over his shoulder and carrying him to the dining room. 

"Put me  _ down,  _ you're going to drop me!" 

"I've got you, Kadan, don't worry." 

Settting Cian down in the chair next to his, he grinned. "Still adorable?" 

He kissed Bull on the cheek. "Extremely." 

***

Dinner was nice, it was filled with stories and joles, but most importantly, Cian held his hand under the table. 

He made Bull feel like the worst kind of teenager, the kind that waited until the next time he saw their partner with bated breath. 

As he walked Cian home(Tama insisted that he walk his "date" home), he thought about asking him on a genuine date. Just them.

"Bull, can I ask you something?" 

"What's the matter?" 

"What does Kadan mean?" 

Freezing in his tracks, Bull looked down at him. "Where'd you hear that?" 

"You called me that in the dining room, and more than once." 

Bull winced. He hadn't known he was doing it. "It's a term of endearment. For loved ones. It means, 'where the heart lies' or 'my heart'." 

"Oh. I thought you were insulting me." 

"No, no. Not an insult, it's because I like you." 

"Like, you  _ like me  _ like me or?" 

"What are you? Ten?" 

Cian laughed. "I had to ask!" 

"Do you elves have anything like that? That you call your loved ones?" 

He thought for a moment. "My father used to call my mother an old Elvish name. Ma Vhenan, or just Vhenan. It means 'my heart'. Like Kadan." 

"Vhenan." Bull repeated, testing the word. 

"It's nice, hearing you say it." 

Cian was closer now, and if Bull bent down, their lips would connect. 

"Kadan," he muttered, leaning down to connect their lips in a warm kiss. 

In that instant, he decided that there was no one else worth kissing than the elf in his arms, and when he pulled away, he was grinning. 

"So," Cian said, breaking the silence, "how about that date?" 

"That sounds good." 

If they could stop kissing long enough for Bull to get him home, lest they freeze to death without going on their first date. 


End file.
